Titles and Styles of Leonor & Sofia's future husbands

[Tatiana Maria]

As for infanta Sofia's future husband, I believe king Felipe VI will give him the title of Duke, as happened to the husbands of Infanta Elena and Infanta Cristina.

In the case of Sofía's husband and I don't think he will be given a ducal title; Jaime and Iñaki weren't created dukes either! Instead, it is very likely that Sofía herself will be created a Duchess; her husband will then be able to use that title as well as long as he is either her husband or widower.

Note that for example Jaime is no longer the Duke of Lugo, because he and Elena divorced. Had he been the one who had been given the title, he would still be the duke of Lugo while Elena would have ceased to be the duchess of Lugo - but it is the other way around.

Agreed. A ducal or other noble title, should one be given, would be granted to Sofía for use by her husband, in the same way it was done for Infantas Elena and Cristina, Pilar and Margarita. (Sofía herself would continue to use SAR la Infanta Doña Sofía, exactly as the other Infantas continued to use their Infanta titles after being created duchesses. In the Spanish system, an Infanta/Infante title takes precedence over a (Spanish) dukedom.)

But my prediction is that unless the monarchy is considerably more secure by the time the Infanta marries, no title of nobility will be granted to the Infanta or her spouse, who will at most become an Excmo. Sr. Likewise, in contrast to Jaime de Marichalar and Iñaki Urdangarin, my guess is that a spouse of Infanta Sofía will not become even a part-time working royal. I think the King, in the present conditions, will minimize the risk of royal scandal by keeping the number of family members who are viewed as royals pared down.

 

[meeralakshmi]

The title Prince/ss of Asturias is and has always been shared with the spouse of the heir. You can find the Royal Decree of November 6, 1987, in English, here: Titles of the Royal Family It specifies the titles of the monarch, the heir, their spouses, and their children and grandchildren.

Isabel II became Queen at the age of two in 1833; when she married her cousin Infante Francisco de Asís, Duke of Cádiz, he became King (consort). The Royal Decree of 1987 actually evolved away from gender equality: the husband of a future Queen will be a Prince only.

Quite disappointing, Spain was the only monarchy that practiced full gender equality when it came to titles until 1987. This is the only gender-specific change JC made. However nothing is stopping Leonor from issuing a decree of her own when she becomes queen, I’m sure she’ll see the inconsistency in her husband having the equivalent of her title when she’s the heir but not when she’s the monarch.

Agreed. A ducal or other noble title, should one be given, would be granted to Sofía for use by her husband, in the same way it was done for Infantas Elena and Cristina, Pilar and Margarita. (Sofía herself would continue to use SAR la Infanta Doña Sofía, exactly as the other Infantas continued to use their Infanta titles after being created duchesses. In the Spanish system, an Infanta/Infante title takes precedence over a (Spanish) dukedom.)

But my prediction is that unless the monarchy is considerably more secure by the time the Infanta marries, no title of nobility will be granted to the Infanta or her spouse, who will at most become an Excmo. Sr. Likewise, in contrast to Jaime de Marichalar and Iñaki Urdangarin, my guess is that a spouse of Infanta Sofía will not become even a part-time working royal. I think the King, in the present conditions, will minimize the risk of royal scandal by keeping the number of family members who are viewed as royals pared down.

I doubt that, giving life peerages to infantes/infantas has always been a Spanish royal tradition. Their spouses are made non-royal peers, not infantes/infantas any longer after the 1987 decree.

 

[Mbruno]

ok, at the moment is slow news time in Spain so I thought about speculating a bit.

I think Sofia's husband will take the example of Inaki or Jaime, meaning he will be His Excellency Duke of XY, their children will be HE too.

What about Leonor's future husband? The title Prince of Asturias is reserved for the heir to the throne so how will he be styled as Prince of Spain?

happy speculating

If we go by the literal wording of the Royal Decree 1368/1987, the husband of Her Royal Highness The Princess of Asturias should be styled "His Royal Highness The Prince of Asturias" :

Artículo 2.​

El heredero de la Corona tendrá desde su nacimiento o desde que se produzca el hecho que origine el llamamiento la Dignidad de Príncipe o Princesa de Asturias, así como los demás títulos vinculados tradicionalmente al Sucesor de la Corona y los honores que como tal le correspondan. Recibirá el tratamiento de Alteza Real. De igual Dignidad y tratamiento participará su consorte, recibiendo los honores que se establezcan en el ordenamiento jurídico

That is hypothetical, however, since a concrete situation of the marriage of a titular Princess of Asturias has not arisen yet since the Royal Decree of 1987 was issued. It remains to be seen if the above highlighted rule will hold or not.

As far as Infanta Sofia's future husband is concerned, the Royal Decree is very clear that he will not get any royal title, but the King, if he sees fit, may award him any style or honor under the royal prerogative set out in Article 62(f) of the Spanish constitution. Infanta Elena's and Infanta Cristina's husbands were not actually granted any title in their own right, but, as you said, they were styled by courtesy as husbands of a duchess in the Spanish peerage. Here is the relevant article in the Royal Decree:

Artículo 3.​

1. Los hijos del Rey que no tengan la condición de Príncipe o Princesa de Asturias y los hijos de este Príncipe o Princesa serán Infantes de España y recibirán el tratamiento de Alteza Real. Sus consortes, mientras lo sean o permanezcan viudos, tendrán el tratamiento y honores que el Rey, por vía de gracia, les conceda en uso de la facultad que le atribuye el apartado f) del artículo 62 de la Constitución.

 

[Blog Real]

I think King Felipe VI will give the title of duchess to Infanta Sofía. I believe that the King will maintain this custom of the Spanish royal family.

 

[meeralakshmi]

If we go by the literal wording of the Royal Decree 1368/1987, the husband of Her Royal Highness The Princess of Asturias should be styled "His Royal Highness The Prince of Asturias" :

That is hypothetical, however, since a concrete situation of the marriage of a titular Princess of Asturias has not arisen yet since the Royal Decree of 1987 was issued. It remains to be seen if the above highlighted rule will hold or not.

As far as Infanta Sofia's future husband is concerned, the Royal Decree is very clear that he will not get any royal title, but the King, if he sees fit, may award him any style or honor under the royal prerogative set out in Article 62(f) of the Spanish constitution. Infanta Elena's and Infanta Cristina's husbands were not actually granted any title in their own right, but, as you said, they were styled by courtesy as husbands of a duchess in the Spanish peerage. Here is the relevant article in the Royal Decree:

The monarchy has followed the decree from 1987 to present so idk why they would go against it when Leonor gets married. My guess is that when she’s queen her husband will be HRH The Prince of Spain according to the decree. However prior to the decree he would have been HM The King of Spain and there was no need to change that.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

Is there a precedent in any monarchy where the male consort is actually styled 'King'? Henrik of Denmark would have been all over it.
I am all for gender equality so in this case the word 'consort' should be of mandatory use when speaking of the consorts, especially the Queens of today.
I agree with the above, the consort will be styled The Prince of Spain and Sofia will get a dukedom like her aunts before her.

 

[meeralakshmi]

Is there a precedent in any monarchy where the male consort is actually styled 'King'? Henrik of Denmark would have been all over it.
I am all for gender equality so in this case the word 'consort' should be of mandatory use when speaking of the consorts, especially the Queens of today.
I agree with the above, the consort will be styled The Prince of Spain and Sofia will get a dukedom like her aunts before her.

Yes, Spain. The husband of a queen was a king until Juan Carlos’ decree of 1987.

 

[Biri]

Yes, Spain. The husband of a queen was a king until Juan Carlos’ decree of 1987.

But previous Queens Regnant wedded men of the equal rank.

Isabel I was the Queen of Castille, Fernando I - the King of Aragon.

 

[meeralakshmi]

But previous Queens Regnant wedded men of the equal rank.

Isabel I was the Queen of Castille, Fernando I - the King of Aragon.

The husbands of Joanna of Castile and Isabella II weren’t kings in their own right. Isabella II’s husband was an infante and she was already queen when she married him. Spain has a history of letting people use their spouses’ titles regardless of the genders of the couple which is why the husbands of the past queens regnant (including the kingdoms that preceded Spain) got the title of king.

 

[Biri]

The husbands of Joanna of Castile and Isabella II weren’t kings in their own right. Isabella II’s husband was an infante and she was already queen when she married him. Spain has a history of letting people use their spouses’ titles regardless of the genders of the couple which is why the husbands of the past queens regnant (including the kingdoms that preceded Spain) got the title of king.

After all they were all Royals; and future Queen Leonor may very probably marry a commoner Spaniard.

 

[meeralakshmi]

After all they were all Royals; and future Queen Leonor may very probably marry a commoner Spanard.

Then why did JC say he would be Prince of Asturias as long as she was Princess of Asturias? Also by that logic Letizia should only be princess consort because she was born a commoner. My guess is that JC undid Spain’s tradition to go along with what the other European monarchies were doing.

After all they were all Royals; and future Queen Leonor may very probably marry a commoner Spanard.

The decree doesn’t specify the rank of the queen’s husband before marriage, regardless of his title he would be prince consort according to the decree.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Is there a precedent in any monarchy where the male consort is actually styled 'King'? Henrik of Denmark would have been all over it.

Yes, many. As a matter of fact, prior to the 18th century, nearly all male consorts of reigning queens shared their wives' titles and thus were styled King.
In addition to the various monarchies of the Spanish peninsula, such as Castile, Portugal and Navarre (Henrik of Denmark did cite the Navarrese kings consort), kingdoms which had Queens in their own right with husbands styled King before the 18th century included Hungary, Bohemia, Poland, Sicily, Naples, Cyprus, England, Scotland, Georgia and Armenia.

I doubt that, giving life peerages to infantes/infantas has always been a Spanish royal tradition. Their spouses are made non-royal peers, not infantes/infantas any longer after the 1987 decree.

I think King Felipe VI will give the title of duchess to Infanta Sofía. I believe that the King will maintain this custom of the Spanish royal family.

It is only in the last three generations (beginning with the sons of Alfonso XIII) that a life title of nobility has been conferred on infantes/infantas whose spouses were not allowed to share the title of HRH Infanta/Infante (either because the marriage did not qualify as "equal" under the pre-1978 laws due to the spouse being of non-royal birth, or because the marriage occurred after King Juan Carlos I's 1987 decree that the title of infante/infanta would cease to be shared with spouses), in order to enable their spouse to use the lower nobility title (as consort). So while it has admittedly become a tradition, three generations is not too long a tradition to break, in my opinion, though I wouldn't mind seeing it continued.

 

[meeralakshmi]

Yes, many. As a matter of fact, prior to the 18th century, nearly all male consorts of reigning queens shared their wives' titles and thus were styled King.
In addition to the various monarchies of the Spanish peninsula, such as Castile, Portugal and Navarre (Henrik of Denmark did cite the Navarrese kings consort), kingdoms which had Queens in their own right with husbands styled King before the 18th century included Hungary, Bohemia, Poland, Sicily, Naples, Cyprus, England, Scotland, Georgia and Armenia.




It is only in the last three generations (beginning with the sons of Alfonso XIII) that a life title of nobility has been conferred on infantes/infantas whose spouses were not allowed to share the title of HRH Infanta/Infante (either because the marriage did not qualify as "equal" under the pre-1978 laws due to the spouse being of non-royal birth, or because the marriage occurred after King Juan Carlos I's 1987 decree that the title of infante/infanta would cease to be shared with spouses), in order to enable their spouse to use the lower nobility title (as consort). So while it has admittedly become a tradition, three generations is not too long a tradition to break, in my opinion, though I wouldn't mind seeing it continued.

Pretty sure infantes being dukes/counts has been a thing for a while, the newer tradition is giving peerages to infantas.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Pretty sure infantes being dukes/counts has been a thing for a while, the newer tradition is giving peerages to infantas.

Do you happen to have earlier examples in mind? I can think of isolated cases (such as the older sons of Infante Francisco de Paula being born as non-royal dukes, and keeping the dukedoms as subsidiary titles after they were elevated to HRH Infante), but it wasn't common prior to the overthrow of the monarchy in 1931.

 

[meeralakshmi]

Do you happen to have earlier examples in mind? I can think of isolated cases (such as the older sons of Infante Francisco de Paula being born as non-royal dukes, and keeping the dukedoms as subsidiary titles after they were elevated to HRH Infante), but it wasn't common prior to the overthrow of the monarchy in 1931.

Yeah I guess that’s who I was thinking of (Francisco de Asís, Duke of Cádiz and Infante Enrique, Duke of Seville). Despite marrying equally Infante Juan used the Count of Barcelona title to assert his claim to the throne, however his wife was never made an infanta.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Despite marrying equally Infante Juan used the Count of Barcelona title to assert his claim to the throne, however his wife was never made an infanta.

By using the royal title of Count and Countess of Barcelona, Juan and his wife Maria de las Mercedes were asserting the claim that they were not an Infante and Infanta, but the rightful King and Queen of Spain.

By the time Juan married, he was considered by monarchists to be first in line to the (non-existent) Spanish throne, since Juan's older brothers had renounced. Thus, in the monarchists' eyes, Juan and his (equal) wife were Prince and Princess of Asturias, rather than Infante and Infanta. (In contrast to some other monarchies, Spanish royal titles are not stacked atop one another: Once an Infante rises to be Prince of Asturias, he ceases to be an Infante.)

Upon Alfonso XIII's death, Juan and his wife were, in the eyes of Spanish monarchists, the King and Queen of Spain. However, even the pretenders to defunct thrones seem to feel that to present themselves as "King" socially, when they have never actually ruled a kingdom, is going too far. Thus, the pretenders to Italy call themselves Duke of Savoy instead of King of Italy, the pretender to Greece calls himself Crown Prince instead of King of Greece, etc.

Juan, as claimant to be King of Spain, apparently felt the same way, and chose not to style himself King on a daily basis. Thus, as his everyday title, he substituted one of the many subsidiary titles that Kings of Spain historically claimed:

King of Spain;
King of Castile, Leon, Aragon, both Sicilies, Jerusalem, Navarra, Granada, Toledo, Valencia, Galicia, Majorca, Minorca, Sevilla, Sardinia, Cordova, Corsica, Murcia, Jaen, the Algarves, Algeciras, Gibraltar, the Canary Islands, East & West Indias, the Islands & Mainland of the Ocean sea;
Archduke of Austria;
Duke of Burgundy, Brabant, Milan;
Count of Habsburg, Flanders, Tyrol, Barcelona;
Lord of Biscay, Molina;​

As can be seen here, after bypassing the various "King" titles, the next-highest title is "Archduke of Austria". But it would presumably sound bizarre for a pretender to the Spanish throne to call himself by a title referring to the foreign country of Austria. Likewise with the various ducal titles of the Spanish crown: Burgundy is in France, Brabant is in Belgium, and Milan is in Italy. The highest non-King title of the Spanish crown which does not reference a foreign location is Count of Barcelona.

Thus, that is what Juan and his wife called themselves socially: Count and Countess of Barcelona. They, and Spanish monarchists, considered themselves to be King and Queen, and so they used one of the titles (Count of Barcelona) that, for many centuries, belonged to the Kings and Queens of Spain - a higher title than Infante/Infanta, and a higher title than any ordinary noble countdom.

 

[meeralakshmi]

By using the royal title of Count and Countess of Barcelona, Juan and his wife Maria de las Mercedes were asserting the claim that they were not an Infante and Infanta, but the rightful King and Queen of Spain.

By the time Juan married, he was considered by monarchists to be first in line to the (non-existent) Spanish throne, since Juan's older brothers had renounced. Thus, in the monarchists' eyes, Juan and his (equal) wife were Prince and Princess of Asturias, rather than Infante and Infanta. (In contrast to some other monarchies, Spanish royal titles are not stacked atop one another: Once an Infante rises to be Prince of Asturias, he ceases to be an Infante.)

Upon Alfonso XIII's death, Juan and his wife were, in the eyes of Spanish monarchists, the King and Queen of Spain. However, even the pretenders to defunct thrones seem to feel that to present themselves as "King" socially, when they have never actually ruled a kingdom, is going too far. Thus, the pretenders to Italy call themselves Duke of Savoy instead of King of Italy, the pretender to Greece calls himself Crown Prince instead of King of Greece, etc.

Juan, as claimant to be King of Spain, apparently felt the same way, and chose not to style himself King on a daily basis. Thus, as his everyday title, he substituted one of the many subsidiary titles that Kings of Spain historically claimed:

King of Spain;​

King of Castile, Leon, Aragon, both Sicilies, Jerusalem, Navarra, Granada, Toledo, Valencia, Galicia, Majorca, Minorca, Sevilla, Sardinia, Cordova, Corsica, Murcia, Jaen, the Algarves, Algeciras, Gibraltar, the Canary Islands, East & West Indias, the Islands & Mainland of the Ocean sea;​

Archduke of Austria;​

Duke of Burgundy, Brabant, Milan;​

Count of Habsburg, Flanders, Tyrol, Barcelona;​

Lord of Biscay, Molina;​

As can be seen here, after bypassing the various "King" titles, the next-highest title is "Archduke of Austria". But it would presumably sound bizarre for a pretender to the Spanish throne to call himself by a title referring to the foreign country of Austria. Likewise with the various ducal titles of the Spanish crown: Burgundy is in France, Brabant is in Belgium, and Milan is in Italy. The highest non-King title of the Spanish crown which does not reference a foreign location is Count of Barcelona.

Thus, that is what Juan and his wife called themselves socially: Count and Countess of Barcelona. They, and Spanish monarchists, considered themselves to be King and Queen, and so they used one of the titles (Count of Barcelona) that, for many centuries, belonged to the Kings and Queens of Spain - a higher title than Infante/Infanta, and a higher title than any ordinary noble countdom.

I see, that makes sense. However after Juan formally renounced his rights to the throne Juan Carlos officially granted him the title of Count of Barcelona. It was a special case of course.